Drug bust at Boeing military aircraft plant in Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A federal drug bust on Thursday at a Boeing plant that makes military aircraft resulted in charges against 37 people, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said 23 people were charged with selling the prescription painkiller Oxycontin and other illegal drugs and 14 were charged with attempted possession of various drugs for trying to buy them.

Authorities said all but one of those charged is a current or former Boeing employee. Another person was expected to be arrested.

The sweep at the plant in Ridley Park, a suburb of Philadelphia, took place early Thursday morning.

"This investigation and prosecution focused not only on the sellers, but also on the users because of the critical role that these employees play in manufacturing military aircraft," Memeger said.

There was no evidence that the integrity of the work on any aircraft had been compromised, he said.